Unless it's one giant casserole of heinous, there's usually something I can eat- a side dish, for example. So I'll fill up on veggies or bread and just have a little of the main course if that's what it takes. And if it's a side I object to, I'll just serve myself a teeny portion.

I just don't eat it. I don't eat much to begin with, so I rarely finish a whole plate. It's not too big a deal that there's more left over of one thing than another.

I don't consider myself a super picky eater, but I am not someone who handles "Spicy" things well. I often will take a bite or two and then be done..

i politely let the host/hostess know that i'm unable to eat what has been served due to my existing GI issues. i have yet to have someone react poorly to this reason.

Well, I don't get invited out much (read about twice a year my wife and I get an invite) and most people now know what I can and cannot eat> We usually bring a side dish that I can eat (usually tossed salad.) I eat a lot of tossed salad dinners with some of my wife's family. :-/

I wouldn't lie, unless it's a super delicate social situation. Just take a little, eat a couple of bites, and if you get asked how you like it, find something positive to say about it--"It's so flavorful" or "I've never had XYZ prepared this way", or if you can't even manage that, preemptively compliment something else on the table.

Doesn't matter if your turkey is done to perfection - I'm really not that fond of it. I'll maybe nibble on a wing, and fill up on sides. A bit of ham is always welcome. :)

What food is in the photo illustration?

it's "too rare" not "to rare." Grammar pet peeve.

I'm game for most things, but just couldn't give 'Hackepeter' a go (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett). It's ground raw pork, usually served on bread - popular in Germany. My host had bought some specially so that I could try it, and I know the food regulations in Germany are tight, but I couldn't get past the 'that's a bad idea' voice in my head.

I'm not a picky eater; I mean, there are certain things I don't like (raw onions are enemy #1) but I still try to be polite and eat a bit before it gets to be too much. Luckily, right now I'm pregnant. So I use that as a safe excuse. My husband's running joke is that my excuse for everything is, "That's not good for the baby." Granted, I might use this more than I should... "How about going to see Expendables 2?" "That's not good for the baby."

My only restriction is vegetarianism. I'll eat anything other than ingredients from dead animals. I have a few food aversions, but nothing that I wouldn't be able to choke down in order to be polite.

I also wouldn't eat that much of whatever it was that I didn't like. That way the host will probably get the hint and not make it again, without it becoming something that you have to talk about uncomfrotably.

Julia Childs said that one should never admit defeat in the kitchen. She would power through a meal (even if it tasted like dirt) and learn from her mistakes.

Personally, I usually try my best to try everything (except mushrooms) and if it's not good I'll just not eat my portion.

Unless I can see myself getting violently ill in the near future - I'll eat it. I do have my little tricks, like getting so involved in the conversation that I "forget" to eat and there's always the old stand by of pushing it around your plate enough to make it look like you ate it.

I could not imagine not being able to power through a little of anything to be polite. But then I read the comment about Hackepeter above. I just don't think I could handle raw pork. I also saw someone serving grilled chicken and using the same tongs to pick up the raw chicken and place it on the grill. I couldn't eat that. So, I'm with Brian Mac- I will try very hard and eat for politeness sake, but not I won't risk death or hospitalization.

I spent a month in Taiwan as a young ambassador for a service organization. We lived with host families and spent every day touring, attending meetings, and being entertained by gracious chapter members. We went with the agreement that we'd try anything that was put before us, and we did very well - even meeting up every morning over coffee to report what new words we'd learned and what new foods we'd tried - but when we were offered the same foods a second time, it became more difficult to politely eat the things we hadn't enjoyed.
Sea cucumber was not at all my favorite. The texture really bothered me every time I ate it. And we all eventually grew weary of being challenged by hosts to "just try the stinky tofu," which wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be, and which none of us minded.

Pretty sure that is octopus served crudo style. I want to eat it!

Eh, as a host I think this is all kind of annoying. We had a dinner party a few years ago and I asked every single person if they had any dietary restrictions and everyone said no. So we served everything from braised rabbit to beans and you would have thought people were going to die. The talk at the table was beyond rude. Somone explained "that it wasn't kosher" and I wanted to slap them and say "well neither are you."

If you have random dietary restrictions than speak up. The rabbit by the way was delicous and the English guests we had invitied were appalled by the rudeness fo the other guests.

I am really straining to think of something I wouldn't eat that someone would serve at a dinner party. I am just the least picky eater in the world.

but I would probably try a few bites and fill up on sides like someone else said.

I'm not a picky eater but once in a blue moon I end up looking at a plate of something I just can't handle. If asked, I'll say politely that I just don't want to eat X (and say why) but otherwise I'll stick to side dishes and not make a fuss. There's no point in spoiling a meal that someone has worked hard to prepare.

The other side of the coin is a host who insists guests eat everything. If a guest is quietly not touching a dish, take the hint that they may not like it and don't call attention to them.

As a dinner party host: it really doesn't bother me if someone dislikes a particular dish I've made.

As a dinner party guest: I'd never make a big deal about not liking something, and I will typically try almost anything, but I also don't feel obligated to do so.

Some of the more generous and charming hosts in my circle of friends are unawesome or unhealthy cooks. I also live in a place where Jello Salad is considered traditional cuisine. I didn't used to think I was super-picky, but as I've gotten to be a better cook, more careful about my sources, and more careful about my nutrition, this has become a challenge for me. I've taken to eating a light meal beforehand and having much smaller servings. I just say "I'm trying to watch what I eat/ mind my schoolgirl figure" etc if someone notices. So far, nobody has taken offense.

As an anthropologist frequently faced with this dilemma, I've learned to generally eat a bit of anything (salt shark has been the most difficult to get through so far - think fish jerky), unless I have a serious allergy. Sometimes this has gotten me in trouble, including one pretty serious bout of traveler's diarrhea, but for the most part it's been fine. I do have a GI disorder I can fall back on if I'm asked to eat more than a few polite bites of anything that I find totally inedible or can't follow certain dietary traditions, such as fasting for Ramadan in the area where I work (I'm not Muslim, but some of my non-Muslim colleagues keep the fast when in-country).

I'm the adventurous eater in my social circle. I've cooked teriyaki rattlesnake, I've made millet dishes, and I always have a new flavor of spices I'm working on. I'm the one that has rabbit on the menu. We don't entertain much, but sometimes we have folks that come over just to try whatever it is I'm cooking. I'm always up front about it, and never feel offended if someone refuses. It's all in good fun, anyways.

That means, if something is really unpalatable to me, it's probably inedible to everyone else. I've had that happen. Burnt icecream? I have learned it's possible. My buddy made and burnt a custard for her icecream, and served it. I politely declined, and she agreed it was burnt. If it's something like that, I won't eat it.

I also won't eat food if I think there is a chance to give me food poisoning. We had a young lady join one of our gaming groups, and she wanted to cook. She thought thawing and refreezing chicken repeatedly was a good idea. After my second bought of food poisoning, I refused to eat anything she cooked. We're still friends, and she thinks I'm the picky one. I'm not the only one that refuses her cooking though.

I think i'm a pretty adventurous eater so most things don't bother me. I'm also pretty lucky that I don't have food allergies. There were a few times in the last few years where I couldn't eat something. I think most of the time I would just try to eat it to be polite unless it was undercooked and dangerous to it. Then I would just leave it on the plate and be discreet about it.

@Sunnyblue: it looks like boiled octopus (tasty), though I could be wrong.
I've never been in the situation where I couldn't eat anything. The worst thing I've been served was probably Japanese New Year dumplings, like eating a rubber ball.

This question brings back the worst meal of my life... friends of my parents had invited us, along a half dozen other guests to their house for dinner. He was a university economics professor, and she was a writer in exile; two intellectuals. We were served tepid spam and pineapple "stew" on top of overcooked cold white rice that was both dry and in glued, gelatinous chunks. When the husband and wife would go into the kitchen, the guests would stare at each other desperately and try to speak jovially while masking furtive whispers -- "...this is the worst meal ever... what can we do??...".

Dessert was just as bad-- a stale, dry cake that the British husband offered to serve up with a pour of milk since they didn't have any cream... Everyone tried valiantly to choke down as much as possible, but beat a hasty retreat not long after dinner.

When someone makes food for me, I eat it. Part of it is politeness, but a lot of it is that for me, that is part of loving food. I wouldn't eat something unsafe out of obligation, so things like undercooked chicken warrants gentle honestly, and things like badly cooked rice with hard little rice pellets are definitely more of a grin-and-bear-it polite eat, but if it looks disgusting, or has something I don't normally like at all in it, or it smells weird, or the first bite is iffy, to me that isn't a reason not to eat something. There are SO many foods that I really thought I didn't like, until I just decided to eat it anyway, and then as my tastebuds adjusted I started to actively enjoy it. I hated grapefruit juice for years, then just decided it was something I should get over, drank a few bottles, and now I love it. I always hated spicy food, then I decided that when I was served food that was too spicy for me, I was just going to eat all of it anyway. Now I am fine with spicy food, and I feel like I wasted so many opportunities to eat delicious food because I felt like I didn't like something.

As far as guests not eating what I make or picking around everything, if it happened once I'd assume it was a fluke, but after the second time I think I would just decide that next time I invite them over, we will have a movie night. That kind of behavior just gives me the impression that my food really must not be their thing, and I'm not gonna waste good food or effort on people who don't enjoy it and aren't willing or able to try. Popcorn and a DVD is a lot easier.

I travel in Asia a few times a year and have seen some amazing things served. Generally, I eat whatever is served. Not everything at the table, perhaps, but most of the dishes.

I do not apply this rule to food served on planes, however. I might take a picture of it to post on FB and horrify my friends at home, but I won't eat airplane food while I'm there. FWIW, the only time I got food poisoning it was from the tiramisu served at a western-style lunch. It's been over 7years and I still can't touch tiramisu now.

Luckily, I lost a good chunk of my childhood pickiness when I hit college. These days, I'll at least try something that is being served. If I'm weary, I'll serve myself a small portion and take a bite. If I don't enjoy it, I stick to the other food on the table. Sometimes I'll even try to mask the dish I don't care for by putting some of it on my utensil WITH the dishes I do care for. I also try to compliment something else on the table so the host knows I appreciate the effort.

That being said, I do not eat raw fish or meat (my stomach cannot handle it), or discernible mustard (psychological thing). I hate mayo, but I can suck down a few bites if need be (and wash it quickly with water).

Also, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying something and saying, "X is really interesting, but I'm not a huge fan of (ingredient). However, I absolutely love Y. Can I get the recipe?"

While I'll probably feel queasy about eating spicy food or maybe bull's testicles, I've definitely placed certain dishes on my very short "no taste" list. Basically it's maggots (or anything with maggots), amphibians and lizards. Lizards are definitely a no-no. I will not even sit anywhere near them.

@carrotsticks: What about live animals, then?

Funny enough re: the picture, the hardest thing I ever ate at a dinner party was baby octopus. I was gagging but still kept eating. I got invited back, but the next time I was served octopus, I conveniently ran out to go to the restroom and didn't come back till that course was served and totally eaten. "Oops!" I said.

I'd try to make a passing attempt to eat a portion and be polite. If it became a frequent thing that a certain host made inedible food (I have an ex sister in law who was the worst cook ever), I'd offer to bring something to contribute to the meal, and if a host kept trying to feed me the same dish of awfulness repeatedly over time, I might then explain politely that I am not a fan of (insert food group here) or just decline the invite. But a one-time thing? No, I'd be polite and deal with it.

It's funny how what is a delicacy in one person's eyes (or culture) is disgusting to someone else!! Ironically, the picture in this post is something I love to eat! In Italy you see octopus carpaccio quite often in fine-dining restaurants! I should follow my own words when say that most of the time food looks more disgusting than it tastes! ;-)

www.bitesforbabies.com

every few years I go with my boyfriend to visit his family in Germany. They're all chefs - one of which has a restaurant in a castle with a vineyard (it's not like that, they don't own it). Each time we come for dinner they bring out the good stuff - liver prepared several ways. It's horrifying each time and I always do my best to choke it down. They are treating me to a luxury I don't find so divine.

i experience this problem usually when sweets are involved. i pretty much only like chocolate and am not a fan of raisins, chunks of fruit, custards, jelly, or lots of frosting. i'll give anything new a try, though.

realistically, if i were given something i didn't like at a dinner table not my own, i would be polite enough to eat it.